Perfekt Order (The Ære Saga Book 1) (33 page)

“I went to a girl’s school.” I shrugged. “I
had dates, but never anything long-term. That seems like the kind
of thing you do with someone you’re serious about, you know?”

Tyr watched me without blinking, his
expression unreadable. After half a minute, I couldn’t take it
anymore and averted my eyes. Obviously he’d done this, probably a
jillion times over a thousand years. Standing there in his
underwear was no big deal to him.

But it was a huge deal to me.

“Say something,” I mumbled.

Tyr pulled me to him and pressed my back with
his palm. My face rested against his chest, and I inhaled the smell
of spruce and pine that was so divinely Tyr. His scent, combined
with the absolutely to-die-for feeling of being held against his
naked chest, was almost enough to make me forget everything we’d
been through.
Almost.

“Let’s just get some sleep. It’s been a
really long day.” Tyr’s voice made his chest vibrate against my
cheek.

My eyes stayed locked on the ground. “I
disappointed you,” I whispered.

“What?” Tyr pulled back so he could look at
me. “Gods, no. Why would you think that?”

“Because… because…”
Because you’re an
immortal sex god and I’m a virgin
.

“Baby, listen to me.” Tyr tucked a finger
under my chin and lifted my head so I was forced to meet his gaze.
“You did not now, nor have you ever, disappointed me. I just don’t
want to pressure you into something you’re not ready for. And it’s
not like I don’t have the time to wait.”

“You’re not upset that I’m a
virgin
?”
I whispered the last word. It made me sound so lame.

“Not at all. I didn’t realize I’d have the
pleasure of being your first.” Tyr winked. “Nice choice, holding
out for a god, by the way. You’re going to have one Hel of a
ride.”

“Tyr!” My palm made a loud noise against his
bicep as I swatted him. Tyr wrapped long fingers around my wrist
and held my hand in place.

“Seriously, we don’t need to rush into
anything. Much as I would love to throw you on the bed and show you
exactly what you’ve been missing out on, I’m looking forward to
doing a lot of other things to you first. Starting with this.” Tyr
released my wrist and wrapped his fingers under the hem of my
cardigan. He pushed further, lifting the T-shirt underneath. The
pads of his fingers brushed the skin of my abdomen, and I inhaled
sharply. “Relax, baby. It’s just clothes.” I exhaled, and raised my
arms. Tyr met my gaze, and waited until I nodded. Then he gently
tugged the layers up, over my head and tossed them on the ground.
When he’d finished, he ran his palms down the sides of my bra,
along my ribs, and stopped just above my hips. “See? No big
deal.”

Right. Standing in my bra with the Norse God
of Hotness in his bedroom was no big deal. And my Meemaw cheated at
cards.
Snort
.

My breath shallowed as Tyr pulled me closer.
He kissed a line from my ear down to my shoulder, pressing the
washboard that doubled as his stomach against my belly. His skin
was hot against mine, something I registered at the same moment as
something deep in my abdomen burst into flames.
Breathe. It’s
just clothes.

“Now these.” Tyr knelt down and slowly
unzipped each of my boots, removing them with unnerving slowness
before tossing them to the side.

“And these should probably come off, too.”
Tyr rose so he was on his knees. He wrapped both hands around my
waist and brought his mouth to my belly button. It was warm, and
soft, and my abdomen practically exploded at the touch. My eyes
were locked on Tyr’s unruly hair as he licked a languid trail
around the contours of my stomach, outlining the softly-defined
muscles and pausing just above the top of my low-cut jeans. He took
the waistband between his teeth and gave it a tug. At the same
time, he glanced up at me with his telltale half-smile. I sucked in
a jagged breath. He’d managed to undo the button and turn my heart
into a jackrabbit on Red Bull in one singular movement.

“Oh my god,” I whispered.

“Yes?” Tyr responded with a grin. Then he ran
his nose along the line where my stomach met my pants, and slowly
unzipped my jeans. He hooked his thumbs inside the band, and
tugged. I lifted one leg, then the other, as I shimmied out of my
pants and stood there in nothing more than my bra and panties.
Thank the maker I’d worn the lacy white set. Between God’s
generosity and the wonders of the underwire, my girls were being
displayed to their maximum advantage.

But it was my bottom half that seemed to hold
Tyr’s attention. The lacy scrap of fabric barely covered the
essentials, and Tyr’s hands palmed my backside as he raised himself
up from the floor. He gave a gentle squeeze, sending a tremor
shooting up my spine. The blood in my belly pulsed violently.
Hot bejeebus.
If it felt like that when he touched me there,
what was it going to feel like when he… he…

I swayed on my feet, and Tyr swooped in to
lift me in his arms. “You okay,
prinsessa
?” he asked,
concern evident in his eyes.

“Never better,” I murmured. Despite my ragged
breathing and lack of equilibrium, it was true. I was out of my
element in every conceivable way—hunted by a killer wolf, stripped
to my undies by a smoking hot Norse deity, and about to spend the
night in the bed of the God of War. But I’d never felt more alive.
Apparently, following my heart was a lot more exciting than
following my schedules.

Tyr shifted me to one arm and pulled back the
covers with the other. He lowered me onto the soft mattress and
climbed in beside me, tucking his impossibly long legs under the
down comforter. He pulled me closer and threw the blankets over me,
then nestled my body against his. We lay skin to skin, the borrowed
sweatpants forgotten. My entire body vibrated with anticipation. As
much as this intimidated me, I couldn’t wait to see what would
happen next.

“Good night,
prinsessa
.” Tyr stroked
the muscles in my lower back as he kissed my forehead. He lay his
cheek against my hair, cupped my bottom with his palm, and said
softly, “Sleep well.”

What? That’s it?

“Good night?” I hadn’t meant the words to
come out on a question, but the squeak in my voice betrayed my
disappointment.

Tyr tilted his head so he pressed his
forehead to mine. Our eyes met, the question dancing between us. It
hung in the air for a long moment before Tyr gave me his trademark
half-smile. “Not tonight. You’re exhausted, and probably
overwhelmed. It’s been forty-eight hours since you found out I’m
immortal, got attacked by a wolf with a grudge, and were invited to
move in with the greatest guy in all the realms.”

“Were ordered, more like it,” I corrected.
But Tyr slid his leg between my thighs, and a thousand nerve
endings I hadn’t realized existed sprung to life. The sensation
wasn’t the slightest bit unpleasant.

“Details,” Tyr murmured, brushing my lips
with a soft kiss. “Point is, you’ve had enough change for one day.
And much as I want to play with all of this…” he squeezed my
bottom, “I’m going to be good for once in my existence and let us
both get some sleep. There’ll be plenty of time for me to blow your
mind later.” He slipped his tongue inside my mouth and swept it
lightly over mine. His palm squeezed again, bringing my hips into
his. The thousand nerve endings did a frantic tap dance, and I felt
a slow build in the base of my stomach. My hands stroked Tyr’s
chest, and I kissed him back, moving my lips against his with a
pace that built to match my desire. But when I shifted to climb on
top of Tyr, he rolled away with a groan.

“Mia, you are not helping me be good.”

“Who said I wanted you to be good?” I
murmured.

“You’ll thank me in the morning. When all of
this sets in, and you realize what an enormous two days you’ve
had.” Tyr rolled back so he faced me. He stroked my cheek with one
finger. “Baby steps,
prinsessa
. There’s a whole world to
explore between this” —he kissed my lips softly— “and this.” He
pressed his hips against mine, and I let out an involuntary moan.
He tilted his head to whisper into my ear, “And I don’t want you to
miss out on a single thing.”

“Okay,” I whimpered, excitement building at
the idea of all the
single things
Tyr might be talking
about.

“Now go to sleep, troublemaker.” Tyr tucked
an arm around me and stroked the small of my back. His kiss was
sweet, his lips lingering just long enough to leave me
lightheaded.

“Night,” I whispered. My fingers trailed a
line along the stubble of his jaw, down his neck, and came to rest
on the hard planes of his chest.

And then I fell asleep, wrapped safely in the
arms of the God of War.

****

“Where do you think you’re going?” Tyr stood
by the front door with his arms folded across his chest. In dark
jeans and a navy blue Henley, he was so delicious I wanted to jump
into his arms and beg him to finish what we’d started the night
before. But Art History started in less than thirty minutes, and
I’d need a lot more than half an hour for him to do what I was
hoping for.

“I’m going to class.” I held up the backpack
Henrik had brought sometime in the middle of the night, when he’d
delivered the rest of my things. “Why are you still here? I thought
you were going straight to the dwarves to deliver the ingredients
after breakfast.”

“Apparently Hreidmar is not accepting
visitors at this time.” Tyr’s eyebrows made a small
V
.

“Hreidmar is…?”

“The dwarves’ leader. And he’s busy. I spoke
with his servant while you were brushing your teeth.”

“You did?” I tried to move around Tyr, but he
was impassive. “How’d you do that? Doesn’t he live in another
realm?”

Tyr reached into his pocket and pulled out
his iPhone.

“Let me guess. There’s an app for inter-realm
FaceTime, too.” I shook my head.

“Henrik developed it a few years back.” Tyr
stuffed his phone in his pocket and recrossed his arms. The
wrinkles between his eyebrows deepened. He looked
really
stressed out.

“Well did you explain that you sort of need
this chain, like, yesterday? On account of the satanic wolf
attacking and all?” I moved for the door again, but Tyr stepped to
the side, blocking me.

“Mmm. Something like that. And yes, he’s
aware. But you don’t push dwarves. What I’m asking is a big favor,
and they don’t tend to do things out of the goodness of their
hearts.” Tyr frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t get me wrong; dwarves have made some
remarkable treasures for Asgard— Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir, is one of
them. But they do so on their own terms, and in their own time. And
their gifts always come at a great price.” His arms still crossed,
he rubbed lightly at his right elbow.

“What’s the price going to be for the chain?”
I tried to reach around him, but Tyr stared at me and leaned
against the door. There was no getting past him now.

Tyr’s fingers tightened around his arm. “Why
don’t we go back to the kitchen? I’ll make another pot of
coffee.”

“Because I’m going to be late for class,” I
reminded him. He just blinked at me, the poster god for
overbearing-ness blocking my path to a timely exit. “Tyr, I really
need to go.”

“I don’t think so.” Tyr reached behind him
and turned the deadlock. “You’re not leaving this house.”

“Excuse me?” There was no way to keep the
incredulity out of my voice. Just because he was having a standoff
with some dwarf king didn’t mean he got to boss me around.
Again.

“I said you’re not leaving this house.
There’s a homicidal canine just waiting for you to set one foot
outside the protection.”

“Are you crazy? I’m not missing class.
There’s no way I’ll be able to keep up if I start ditching
lectures.” My fingers gripped my backpack so tight, my knuckles
cracked.

“I’ll forge you a sick note and you can get
notes from someone. What classes do you have today?” Tyr didn’t
move.

“Art History and Calc II. Both of which are
really complicated. I’m not skipping.”

“Charlotte can give you her art notes, and
Henrik will pass you in Calc II. Solved.” Tyr looked unaccountably
pleased with himself. Bless his heart, the poor thing was
delusional. The whole wolf deal must have gotten to him.

“That’s not going to work for me,” I said
sweetly. Rule number one dealing with crazy people: kill them with
kindness. “Charlotte’s super smart, but I’m already kind of lost in
Art History, and I need to be there to understand the pieces. And I
don’t want to just
get
a pass in Calc II because I’m dating
my TA’s roommate. I want to
earn
an
A
so I don’t fall
behind for the next series of equations. Math classes build on
themselves, and I’m planning on going to a top graduate school.
Now, if you could kindly let me through the door, I would very much
appreciate it.” I reached for the deadlock.

“Forget it, Mia. It’s not happening.” Tyr
flexed his arms. At six and a half feet, and what looked like a
solid ton of muscle, he should have been intimidating. But he was
standing between me and my academic future. Hell hath no fury like
an Ahlström facing mediocrity.

Forget killing him with kindness. If that god
made me get a
B
, I’d just plain kill him.

“Oh, it’s happening.” I glared at him. “I
agreed to live with you; I didn’t agree to give up my entire life.
Look, I’ve done a pretty decent job compromising. I didn’t push you
when you wanted to go off bear hunting without me. I didn’t go
ballistic when your BFF locked me in the house so the two of you
could wrestle the crazy wolf. I’m living in your house, even though
it’s
way
too soon to even think about a step like this, and
even though my parents would freak out if they knew I’d moved in
with a guy I’d only been dating a few months. But dang it, Tyr
Fredriksen, I will not skip class for you. That is just asking too
much.”